Ontario may have a relatively small acreage base for agriculture production, but the value and volume of food and food ingredients produced is second to none. Supporting that valuable production and processing capacity is key for Grain Farmers of Ontario, and CEO Crosby Devitt says that that comes down to three main points for the immediate… Read More
Category: Ag Policy
The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) has put forward its priority list for the upcoming federal election. There are a few unique items on the list, though some items are in common with other platforms, including the push for more funding for the next policy framework. With only a 35-day election campaign, there’s not a… Read More
Just days since parliament was dissolved and the federal election called, it’s prudent to find out what issues citizens are concerned about, and what party leaders plan to do to address these issues. To provide insight, RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney was recently joined by David Coletto, founding partner and CEO of Abacus Data. New… Read More
The federal election writ was dropped on Sunday, August 15, and the question on people in agriculture’s minds is if the industry will have any role in the campaign. Grain Growers of Canada recently released a list of issues they think should be addressed by the candidates, and Erin Gowriluk, executive director at GGC, offers… Read More
With just over a month of an election campaign, agriculture groups are being creative and using multiple platforms to get their message out on what they’d like to see as part of election platforms of the major political parties. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) and Grain Growers of Canada both promoted their wish lists… Read More
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the next federal election is set to take place September 20th, 2021. With such a tight timeline, it’s anticipated that producer and policy groups will announce priorities in short order. First out of the gate is the Grain Farmers of Ontario, which unveiled its election asks to federal Canadian election candidates… Read More
The federal government has approved $500 million for drought and wildfire relief programs under the AgriRecovery framework, just hours before the launch of the federal election campaign on Sunday. The total includes the previously-announced $100 million. “We thank Minister Bibeau for attaining further funding to help beef farmers and ranchers dealing with widespread severe drought… Read More
Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) executive vice president Dennis Laycraft’s recent trip to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) convention in Nashville was a busy week. To start, Laycraft met with new leaders of organizations that frequent the convention, who were really appreciative that CCA made the effort to get down there. On Laycraft’s agenda of… Read More
The federal government has its eye on reducing nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizer, but it’s not clear how it intends to reach its target, and whether the target is achievable without having a detrimental impact on crop yields. Last December, while announcing the federal carbon tax would be increasing to $170/tonne of CO2 equivalent, the… Read More
A $200 million, three-year fund has been launched by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada under the federal government’s Agricultural Climate Solutions program. As of August 12, the On-Farm Climate Action Fund is now open for delivery partner proposals. The partner(s) will then provide direct grants to farmers to adopt beneficial management practices that store carbon and reduce… Read More
The current drought is testing the current ag policy framework system, with multiple provinces recently requesting AgriRecovery. A timely report on how ag policy is developed between federal, provincial, and territorial governments in the past, present, and future, may shed light on the problems with the current system, in time for the next framework to… Read More
A recent decision by the federal government to put the brakes on any maximum residue limit (MRL) reviews until the spring of 2022 has politicized what should be a non-partisan, science-based regulatory process, says Pierre Petelle. President and CEO of CropLife Canada, Petelle says that it’s somewhat surprising to see the government’s stance and language… Read More
The Ontario government says it will deliver immediate assistance to livestock farmers impacted by drought in northwestern Ontario by committing provincial funding for AgriRecovery. The province is committing up to $5 million in funding for the 40 per cent provincial cost share. The federal government recently announced $100 million for AgriRecover across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba,… Read More
Agriculture Minister for Saskatchewan David Marit announced today (August 10) that the province will provide $119 million in direct support for drought-affected cattle producers under the Agri-Recovery framework. The province says the program will provide a per head payment to help maintain breeding stock and will help producers with extraordinary costs caused by the drought,… Read More
The Manitoba government says it will commit $62 million in provincial funding to AgriRecovery programs to help livestock producers affected by this year’s drought. While details were not included in the August 10 announcement, Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler says the programs will be designed to “ensure producers have options to retain and care for their… Read More